Pól Ó Conghaile: Snippets of Irish bring our landscape to life in surprising ways

Irish words and placenames can carry layers of colour and detail often lost in translation

Lough Leane, Co Kerry (Stock image)

Pól Ó Conghaile

“You can’t hear the sounds of modern life,” Richard Clancy said.

The Killarney-based walking guide was guiding me on the gentle, 6.5km loop around Tomies Wood. Every now and then, Sika deer slinked through the trees. A charm of Siskin shape-shifted from oak to oak. It was a quality kind of quiet.